Associated Student Bodies in an
anthropomorphic,
gay-themed
comic book, drawn by
Lance Rund and
Chris McKinley with secondary stories
drawn by
Terrie
Smith, published by Lance Rund. It was particularly popular in
furry
fandom.
Originally published in January of
1998, the quarterly book featured a variety
of guest artists and writers producing several
anthology,
short stories surrounding
the lives of a group of gay men living at Hillard Hall on the
fictional Leland University campus. All of the characters are
represented by humanoid animals ("
anthropomorphics") dealing with real
life issues.
In spring
2004, a hardcover compilation of the 8 issues of the
comic book was released.
Fans and collectors often point to a
related publication,
Circles, as the successor to
Associated Student Bodies, being both anthropomorphic in
nature and dealing with gay characters in slice-of-life
situations.
Comics
The current comic releases in the
series are:
Associated Student Bodies issues
#1-8Associated Student Bodies - 2004 Yearbook
EditionAssociated Student Bodies - The Lion in
Winter (Mini story)Associated Student Bodies - The Boys
of Summer (Mini Story)Portfolios
There are many
portfoilios
featuring drawings of the ASB cast... Most of them drawn by
McKinley but there are also drawings by other artists such as
Terrie Smith and FEL.
Associated Student Bodies - Freshman
Year - 1998Associated Student Bodies - Caught on Tape
- 1999Associated Student Bodies - Clothing
Optional - 2000Associated Student Bodies - Intellectual
Stimulation - 2001Associated Student Bodies - Things
You Never thought You'd See - 2002Associated Student
Bodies - Secret Fantasies - 2003Associated Student
Bodies - Money Shots - 2004Associated Student Bodies -
Lend the man a Hand - 2005Associated Student Bodies -
Cats and DogsAssociated Student Bodies - Paper
DollsAssociated Student Bodies - Behind this Desk I'm
NakedCharacters
Associated Student
Bodies has a wide range of characters varying heavily
in appearance, personalities, and even species.
MAIN CHARACTERS:Daniel
King: LionDaniel
is the quote-unquote "Hero" of our story. He starts the story as a
freshman at Leland University and after going through twists and
turns in his life, starting with his realization of his own
homosexuality, becomes a better person and finds a lifelong
partner.
Marcus Paxten: WolfMarcus is Daniel's wolfie, roommate, and
lover; he has a dark background (Abused as a child, drinking
problems) which doesn't show in his kindhearted personality. He has
a genuine sense of caring, and was concerned for the wellbeing of
Daniel since the first day he met him. Being as loving as he is, if
provoked or threatened his wolf instincts can come out. He used to
be in the military until being kicked out when he was discovered
having sex with another cadet by his jealous girlfriend. He is a
senior at Leland University, and with Daniel being a freshman this
will prove to be a problem later in the story... (Issue
8)
Steven Paris: CollieSteven is the only straight male at Hillard
East, but that doesn't make him any less liked by the gay ones at
Hillard. Steven is a junior who is majoring in pre-medicine, he
sometimes brings females into his dorm room which drives Ricky (Who
has a huge crush on him) crazy.
Tina
Devereaux: Striped SkunkTina is the RA for Hillard
East, she is always worrying when something goes wrong with one (Or
two) of the boys. She loves them all and wants them to be happy,
albeit she is always willing to put them in their respective
places.
Nigel Churchill: WolfNigel comes from a rich family that
thinks spending time in the on campus dorms will teach him a
lesson… Somehow. Nigel IS gay though, and is attracted to some of
the other guys. He always enjoys messing with Marcus in some way or
another, they are of course both wolves.
Charles
Morton (AKA Tiny): HyenaKnow as ‘Tiny’ by all of his friends (Gay or
otherwise) and is a football star. He came to college to play
football and play football he does, but his academics could use
some work. He tries very hard and gets passing grades but sometimes
gets discouraged when things don’t work out right. His lover is
Ricky, which doesn’t make much sense if you think about it, but
whatever floats their boats.
Ricky
Sebastian: RaccoonRicky is the… well, I don’t know exactly
what to call him. He’s the resident drag queen/full of energy
raccoon/feminine male/god knows what else. He’s a very skinny
raccoon… that likes to wear ladies underwear and clothing… A lot…
Not much more to say about that. He is majoring in Astrophysics,
how that came about… only god knows.
David
Mears: Bengal TigerDavid is the manly man of the
group at Hillard, he is a very buff, very tall, tiger. He has a
dominance fetish and turns to Vince to fulfill that fetish. He
frequents leather bars and likes to poke fun at anyone that he can.
He’s majoring in Mechanical Engineering, go
figure...
Vincent Donneman: Whitetail DeerWhen
you see Vince, it’s usually when he’s having sex. And when Vince is
having sex, it’s usually with David. He’s the kind of guy that
likes to write things down or draw them, and that’s why he is
majoring in fine arts.
Gerald Anton:
CatOn the outside, Gerald is
your standard run of the mill Goth. But under all of that he is
actually a nice guy, not that he’d ever tell anybody that. He loves
to write poetry no matter where he is, and that’s why he is
majoring in literature. His family is actually richer than Nigel’s,
and that drives Nigel mad.
Timothy
Montgomery: MeerkatTimothy is the gay-pride rally leader of
the group, he is never to be outspoken and will gather a group of
people if he feels something should be done about something or
other. Oh, and don’t call him Timmy.
Alex
Infantino: Red
FoxAlex is one to jump to conclusions a little too fast, he
is very into the whole self-image thing. It may seem like too much
to other people, but to Alex it’s just perfect. He is majoring in
mathematics, but he would rather major in something like fine art
or fashion design.
Thomas Carey:
Red FoxThomas is the
huggable, chubby (Not obese, just chubby), loveable fox that is
majoring in Computer Science. Of course, he’s a geek! He’s also a
caring loving individual who is dating Alex. They’re both foxes,
right?
MINOR
CHARACTERS:Mr and Mrs. King:
Lion/LionessDaniel's Parents, between issue 1
and issue 5 (They became an important part of the story from issue
5 and on) they underwent a major change in appearance... Before
they looked like bankers or something... I'm not sure if I should
have placed them in major or minor characters, because Mr. King has
a rather large role later on in the story.
The
Priest: Wolf
Minor spoilers ahead...
The (unnamed) priest is a wolf, like
Marcus... And he looks sort of like Marcus... Enough so that when
Daniel runs away and the priest meets him at the
cathedral Daniel thinks that it's
actually Marcus that had come to find him. The priest has a large
impact upon Daniel's father, and that's how the story becomes all
warm and fuzzy towards the end... That, and they're sort of animals
and fuzzy to begin with... Alright, I suck at
puns.
Allison Boyd: LionessAllison is Daniel's lit partner in issue 4,
I can't say much about her without spoiling it for you...
^_^
Roy:
Lion
Roy is the lion that Daniel meets at the gay
pride parade thingy. Daniel also meets him later
at the leather bar that David takes him to...
Which provides some great comic relief.
(If you want to know what I'm talking about, read the
comics!)
Scratch Rose:
Coyote
Scratch Rose is a character
from issue 2... He's the one with the
guitar. He was apparently a previous lover of the
bartender Erik. He buys Daniel and Marcus a drink
as he leaves because he thinks that they have a better chance than
him and Erik did.
Karl:
I think he's a
Doberman
Karl is
Gerald's gay lover (Gerald may be a goth... but he DOES live at
Hillard.) and one of the main characters of the "Poetic Justice"
scene drawn by Roz
Gibson. If you want to see Gerald and Karl in
"action" check out the 2002 and 2005
foilios.
Cliff:
No clue...
He's big though
I don't even know if he's worth
mentioning cause you only see him one time... On a
roof... But Cliff is the character that Timmy was
making love with in issue 3... And then you have
the always fun pun of "I fell offa Cliff."
Hardeharhar.
Plot
The primary story that holds the 8-issues of the comic book
together is the tale of young Danny King (a lion) going to Leland
University and away from home for the first time.
He finds himself assigned to residence at Hillard Hall, a
place notorious in the student body as being "the gay
dorm." Danny's roommate is Marcus Paxten, a wolf
who takes a rather immediate liking to the young man.
Over time,
Danny discovers that he, himself, is gay and his whole life has
changed as he attempts to balance classes, a boyfriend, and his
secret with a conservative family, religious dogma, and the
bewildering diversity of the gay community.
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